Dec 29 Bachcast Episode 29: BWV 1017

Shownotes

Elizabeth Blumenstock, the American baroque violinist well known on the west coast, once played at the Cleveland Museum of Art and performed this sonata. This must have been in early 1996, as I remember I had just broken my leg and I attended on crutches. The second and fourth movements bounce so nicely, I often feel the urge to tap my foot to them, or else actually move my body. This continues our exploration of Bach’s sonatas for violin and keyboard; this one happens to be my personal favorite.

Siliciano (largo)

Allegro

Adagio ma non tanto

Allegro assai

Always of interest is the balance between keyboard and violin; which is the lead? Are they equal partners? Depending upon the version we listen to, there are different answers to that question. It’s clear in the writing, for me, that the violin part and the right hand of the keyboard part are both melodic and deserve equal treatment. The balance is tough perhaps to achieve in a recording as there are two places to tinker with balance: the players and their positioning and ability to come in and out of the foreground texture, and then the mixing engineer. Ideally the big issues would be tackled by the players themselves, as in a live performance.